The Sun. — London, England, 1810-08-30 00:00:00

;~ fence tf the countries which he has subjugated, rxacting trotn these tomaintain and furnish the ex rr.ces of his armies : that if he . had not employed so many troops for the reduction of Spain,, he would have disbanded a great number of them, and would have saved the expence which they occasion; that ,the stocks of our treasnry.have not experienced the inversion which was to be preferred, and was con - Neniept, that is to say, to pay-tne troops which - are to .make-the conquest and pacification of, the king dom ; that there has been many extravagant plow sions itt .expeoces for luxury; that the gratifications -and rewards, though just ; could have" been suspend ed to times More quiet and more happy ; ihat the, establishments are maintained too, great, too nume rous, and to expensive ; that Spanish coips have' been formed, and, art- forming, which are not only -Useless, but prejudicial, because they absorb sums "which might have been usefully applied; and final ly, that the kindness with wi.ich the King 'treats those of the opposite party is excessive, granting them favours and advantages which only serve to disgust and dispirit those who from the commence ment adhered to his cause. _ _ , " These are the principal subje&s which . the Minister communicated to me ; and now I shall proceed to explain to your Excellency the substance , of my answers. The principal point, and that which, in toy mind, most occupies. the attention of the Emperor, is, a iwish .to evade sending to Spain more money than the 2,00°,600 monthly, as agreed in. the former arrangement Recollecting the ohtervations which had been made on .this sub jet;r, when I was in the office of Foreign Affairs, , and being well• aware of the situation of our pro _voices .and of our Treasury, I replied to the Mi nisier„that the King,, my Master, was well con vinced of the great 'drawback the War of Spain oc casioned to the, Treasury of France ;. but that be saw, with. the deepest regret and concern, the im possibility of freeing, it from this charge by any means or resources in our power ; that the custo mary-reins . had been until this period as null, and could only be collected in a few conquered distriCts, and even in these the frequent incur siosis of tile insurgents and banditti parties frus trated the diligence-of the Administrators and Cul lednis ; that in many' parts the very General and Chiefs of the. French troops served more, 16 im pede. thaws assist the collection cf the royal duties ; that the' provinces were ruined by the stipplit's of all kinds which they hid to provide for the. French troops,- and by fhe total Ce : ,s'.ition of tratfic between the different towns; thaesuch funds aisnad been.collected, as well from the' establiShed impoSts OS from the other means and r e sources which had been devised, had.ali been applied preferably to the. wants of the French army, suktstracting only soave . inconsiderable sums for the Royal Guard, which bad been almost always out on strong pirties of ob servation, for his Majesty's Civil List, which had _been psid but in small pill, and for other purposes of the first necessity, so that there had been no pay issued to widows, pensioners, or those retired from ...active service, nor very 'often to those in the most necessary employments. The very MM:st ers hate been at times five months without receiving theirs, in order to meet the expenses of the troops. With respett to attributing to ignorance, want of energy, or .excessive lenity on the part of the Government . towards the inhabitants, the not having drawn forth tkie _resources which were svipposed to have ex.sted, I told the Minister that they had been employed as far as circumstances permitted. That to 'judge us, it was necessary to keep in view the then existing circumstances, namely, that the subdued Provinces were few, and in none did the tree and uninter rupted exercise of administration take place : that extraordinary contributions and forced loans were exacted in. all places where the colledion was deem ed pradicable, overcoming no small ,difficulties; , that in order to preserve the subject Provinces, faith-‘ fill, it was advisable not to goad or harass them, to an extreme, that by doing so we should inspire those in a state of insuireetion with an unfavourable idea as to the fate that awaited them, in the 'event of their surrendering themselves; 041 ceretinly more . ..contributions . might have been raised, in the ,awe manner as the French Generals do in Provinces they govern; but that even such contributions would not have produced a sufficient sum to meet the expences, of the army, particularly when it remained two years and a halt; or more, in the same station ; that ,these contributions cannot be repeated, as exeeri • eke may chew in. Castile and Leon, as in the aor mer all the current coin is exhausted , ancfthe means of restoring its circulation do not appear; particu larly when the treops are in motion, and the mili tary chest distributes its funds in districts distant from the place of their collection, that his Imperial Majesty evould be convinced of the impbsSibility of collecting funds sufficient to defray the expences of the war, - from what takes place in the, Prbvinces go , vented by French Generals, who cannot be accused ,b 1 indolence or excessive lenity towards the inhabi tants; on the contrary, it is to be feared, they avail thethselves of cruelty and violence, which no Ge vernMent sou -earth can exercise over its own natural subjects, between,whona thereare reciprocal ties and obligations; the' latter naturally looking up to the former for proteCtlon and support ; and that what might have been done in Lerida may not perhaps : serve as ttn example for similar conduct iii other places; for, as I have:been informed here, the in habitantS of the neighbouring villages deposited their motley, 'furniture, ana church plate, in that town; belicying it capable of making a most vigorous re sistance ; besides, it is-not yet known if it has, been able to furnish the sum demanded. I represented to the Minister,- that contributions had been raised in • AndahAa, of which I had been informed; and that in Grenada, though it surrendered without making the smallest re,iStanee, there had been a demand of .5,000060 of reels, under the title of a torced•loan; a-id in .Mabga a gieater sutra, part of which I re collect had been deposited in the military chest of the 4th cor,:s ; that being absent. from Seville at the' period of itti surrender, 1 know not exactly what had been demanded there, but I am convinced, 'that by-the interference of the French authorities, all tire English 'proPerty fonnd in that city • bad been se ques,v:red, and that the same had taken place in Malaga ; that in genet al the value of such property, when hit discovered, is,much over-rated, as I have , heard had been the' caa on the entrance of General Sebastiani into Malaga, and it is not to be ed,. that the idea. for ined: by ,his Imperial May-sty d the value Of that: at &vine, should he - cornoitnable to the exaggerated accounts which might have reach ed Km.. As I am well informed of the active exertionsi,' which have beep used for the collection of ehureh:, pate, and of the results ot this coh:cooti, I had beerrable-to tell the Minister; that this resource had not been neglected; that not only all the jewels, silver and ,gold, found in the suppressed convents, -had been collected and elrrted directly to, the mint, but alsb what,' belOnged to the nunneries, parochial and cathedral churches of 'the whole kingdom, [tut.' ing only the sacred vessels judispensahly accessary for worship ; that this resource had not .been..as abundant and productive as might JO supposed,. and we ourselves'expected; first, because all the churches of the towns through which the French troop,, phs ed, were plundered and despoiled of their oinaineuts; secondly, because Elie insurgents and bandisti pay ies had done the same in the towns w hich they had occupied' or pas Sod through; and, thirdly, • beLause the plate - of the churches, even before the altars, in niches and images, appear of great value and rich neSs, and when you go to collect them and melt them, they are generally found to be nothing more ttAn thin plates, placed only to cover the wood which compose their centre ; and.that this resource, such, as it is, s and all other which have-been adopt ed,- are those which compose thelu4s with which-. the indispeniable nece s sities ot the Treasnry ha‘e been supplitd I. amongst 'which the subsistence, hos pnal,and otl'er expences of 'the troops, have been tirSt attended so. With respett to the specie stip posed to be in-circhlation in Spain; tal,ing into the calculation what the ;;'-ench and En g lish; blosa i ;hi into it, and also what has , arrived fi ein America, I • have assured the Minister,' Ova as yet nn great abundance of specie is percenatne- 7 whethei it is occasioned by a great proportion of it remaining with-the numerous French sutlers who follow sue army--,whether it.be that another. proportion is dis tributed-Amongst out vender ? of ,eatanleS, and li gnors—or whether it 'be principally • becituse the money of the Spanish coinage has di,appe,tred to .the time of the insurreOlonalGovernment, !ex pend .ed in the payment for arms, clothing,. and other etfeets, received from foreign powers„ especially from the Enghsh, and tur goods introduCed by corn merce. • " I confess upon ;big - subject I .am devoid ot - sutikiently exact Accounts, and that I 'aut only go . - 'veined in my opinion by the clamours and the evi dent signs of . poverty which present themselves on eery side. lo order to atfold full satisfaction, and :plainly answer the charge of ,tree complaint which has been preterted, that the-funds of our Treasury • had not been-applied with preference to the expen diture of, the artny, but nave ceen prodigally wasted in' objects luxury,. I should have wistit. i d tO . nave' had a statement which should skew the exrendnure or distributi,:n of • all toe. sutlis ree'td, into the Treasury Since the King has been in Spain ; and I believe it would not be very difficult ,to send me this statement. By this means the dcurt would see what have been the sums ,that had been ap;tro! priated to the expences 'of the war, and what were those which had been destined to superfluities and luxury. . • - .11) the mean time, not, exactly understanding what they wish to qualify with the name of prods piny or luxury (for the King our Sovereign has not been IQa situation to expend exorbitant stuns with his Civil List,, Of - Which, in My opinion, tie has not received the half, and rather has beer) in want of the means which the decorum and splendour. of Majesty require), yet I could perceive, from the explanations of the Minister, that he principally al luded to the gratifications which his Majesty had distributed amongst some of his servants, both civil and , •Military.- Under this impression, I asserted, that those gratifications, wade with the same spirit with which all first services are rewarded, in order to stimulate further exertion, .in no way bad dithi nished the funds of the Treasury destined ter the war department; and as they consist of hypotheti cal, or imaginary sums, useful only for the acquire ment of li,:tiorial advantages, they could fist serve for the payment of the soldiers, nor for other expences, which absolutely 'required to be paid in specie. " To this the Minister answered me that since the hypothetical cedulas, or government paper security, property ce funds, • had a 'value, this value could be converted into money; and my answer was, that for the present,' and until full confidence in ills Go "vernment should be established, the sale of the na tional property should be Multiplied. I .Nith reipeti to the cedulas, it may be said that . they do not possess a current. value, horn the great loss sustained, in their discount. But the resource of alie-ating property has nut been neglected in or der to wee; the expenses of the day, amongst which those of the .war department have ever been the first attended to. On the contrary, in order to establish by this• means a disposable fund, great - advantages have been granted to the purchasers on paying a part in specie; and thus the imaginary sums,* given by way of gratification, iedemilifieation, or other title, have notsdinainished the resource which the national property could for the present afford to the Treasury. " With respect to the Staff.of the Army, which is supposed numerous and expensive, I have told the Minister, that ir. my opinion, they had misinformed his Imperial Majesty ; that I did not believe, that , the King had appoiwed more Generals and Officers of the Staff than were necessaty; nor did he receive wore of the, ancient officers than in justice should have been admitted,. from their having, espoused the cause of his Majesty and remained faithful to it ; and that the latter bad not hitherto consumed any of the funds of the Treasury ; and I doubt if any of-them have as yet received their pay. In this point I should also have wished to be more exactly in forme,,l., for I am of opinion that much exaggera:ion had been made use of the Emperor. " An exaet detail of all the Staff, which it ap pears to me would not be very difficult for the nister of War to perform, would 'remove the usia- * , Cedulas, Government paper security. vourable impressions which may have been made, in xiiis particular. The idea that the regiments aod corps of Spa niards are prejudicial, inasmuch as they go to in crease the number of the enbory's, after having nc 7 .casioned expense to the Treasury, is here bat too prevalent, and consequently the formation of these corps is considered`piemature. '1 represented to the Minister that I consideredlto method roll .1 be more - necessary and politic than_ this, for no Govern- Ment can-exist witholit a -force; that although it . is true that in thebeinning much desertion would take place, _it could never be so great as was-apprehended ; that-every day ii would become 'less in proportion as.the public nnder went a -change, and the reduilion of . the provinces was•increasing ;- that at present; it is to be lived, it will be little or nothingsince the large bodies of insurgents; who took the name of 'armies, 'have disappeared,and there only remain the parties of, banditti, who Offer but little attraction to Aliose.who are enlisted under the Royal Standard; that the corps of Spaniards employed in-garrison would enable the French ttoOps to . undertake the operations in the field, as the French -Generals wished; lamenting that they s , hould . be obliged to haVe their divisions detached ,and separated in order to preserve tranquility in the provinces already con quered.' • The Minister appears to doubt that there are French Generals who agree in the.utsl frol.furrning p;rps of Spaniards, at the same time he supposes they, approve of,the civic, uards: As I know posi tively that there are Generals, and of much-Tote, who not Only are in favour of die system of creating regular corps, but also persuade anthpiomute their formation s ith their utmost etTorts can assert and sustain my proposition. But, from the importance of -the subject,. I should' wish ,that 'these Generals should make knoNn'here their mode of thinking, alleging 'their solid reasons, and foundations upon Which they - build their opinions ; for we do not re ceive much attention on subjects of this nantre,.and perhaps we may create suspicions of an unpleasant nature. ". It only remains .to speak of the extreme kind neswit hieh it is said the King treated ti,o3e of the uppwite part); granting theca favours and ad vantages. " I wished to explain - to.the Minister the favour able results produced by the general amnesty, 'when the Kies penetrated by the Sierra Morena ; hig benignity gained tin -hearts of the inhabitannts of those provinces,.and facilitated toe occupation 'of them, without the effusion ofblood ; and-with how much facility ,:and 'promptitude he teimmated a campaign which Vloold have been ti,e•most glorious possible, were it not.for_the unfortunate reststence. of Cadiz, fomented by the cunning and golt; of , the- English. Bat the Minister dwelt upon-.the excess oe his Majesty's goodne - ss towards some individuals, who,. having followed the opposite .party, obtained rewards and employments in his royal service. I then said that there were few in this 'situation, and, that those were persons remarkable for their circum stances, and for the part they had aped amongst the insurgents, that his. Majesty' deemed it expe dient to make those examples in order .to inspire confidence in those wim'wete still wavering and in decisive; While they should present themselves with submission to his Majesty; and lie has not as, yet had occas:on to repent his having placed them in the situations they occupy; that . it was endeavoured by all means to weaken the force of the insurgents : and that it wasonot the least etikacious .mode of do ing so to admit into his Majesty's service the Gene rals and officers who voluntarily wished tO enter into it, 'upon their taking the necessary oath of fidelity,,; . and if this has displeased any of, the. ancient adhe rents of the King, it is our indiscret egptism which should not impede the grand work of:uniting the . nation. • .." I have stated to your Excellency . every thing that passed in my conference' With the Duke of Ca dore. I did not speak •on the: subject of French troops employed in the, %ar, of . Spin, nor as to the quantity of.money sent by the Treasury of France to that kingdom, nor upon some other topics on which the Minister touched, as I had .not been in, possession of minute particulars on these subjects ; nor did I think they should be subjects ofdiscussion. Your Excellency will be pleased to have.the good ness to transmit every thing tia - hiS7WITe . ;fI . tor his royal information ; and to communicate to me what, his royal pleasure may.oniider that I stioUldidd on . the_ same topics on future occasions. ••. " It is not to be wondered, that many refieelions should have fallen from me, calculated to prove the regularity, the prudence, and wise views with Which his Majesty proceeded in the particulars which gave rise to the remarks and observations, which, by or der of the Emperor, were laid before me. . . " The instructions and• information which shall be aforded me, shall best enable'rue to prove; for the future, - my zeal. During the conversation I had - v. - ith the ter, I took occasion to read to him the letter which the Minister of War transmitted me, written by the Intendant of Salamanca, on the 24th of last March ; drawing a dismal picture of the state of that province, and the difficulties that presented themselves, to prevent the levying of the contribu tions imposed by Marshal the Duke ofElehit: ‘; :n. " And before breaking up our. interve.w, I also' read to him the letter which the Regent of the COtin, cif of Navarre direeted to the IVliniater'S Secretari of • State, dated the 30th of April, complaining of the . conduct of the Governor M. Dufour, instigating the Council of Government "(Consejo de Gobierno), created by himself, to make a representatitin,• - or act, incompatible with the Sovereignty of the King Upon this subjeCt, without approving or disaprov ing of the act of Mons. Dufour, he. simply told me, that the Government establishectat Navarre, and the • other Provinces, were military., measures. I shall return to treat more particulatly on this subject when I have an opportunity. " God preserve your Excellency many years. (Signed) " The Dule of SANTAFE. " Paris, June 181 o." [A correa translation.of the original letter (written in Spa.. nisn) in possession of his Excellency the Marquis. of RO- I:113114. • • -1/1.-TO GONZALO OVARREL,I " Paris, rune O. " MY ESTEEMED COMPANION AND EliiSi " knoWs where'this, letter will find Here they tell us that you are going to Va and with what forces ? Vor ten days I Woe counti from §pain, but not because there French expresses, or no posts. I am obIi; hazard coujectures' in this situation, like the cians of Cob!entz and Cracow. • " How they have begun to confer with have written a long .account to the King, % 4 soppo,e will be shown to you and iffy other f to which, therefore, I shall refer you. Bey( suaded that I shall not neglcct the best Of nitios. • " The Minister of War, the Duke. of has been engaged for some days in the bush to-morrow, in his house, with their Imperia jesties., When he . is disengaged from this I will again attack him respecting the slily Joseph Napolton, and .on the formation taliutis in . the depot of prisoners ; but I fear not 'succeed , on account -of t h e s t rong prej that prevail against the Spanish corps. Receive, my dear friend, the atfeetioni pressions of Maria Peppa, we both join slroe to our ,friend Donna Anna, and belie' .31ways to be, yours; Sre,.. " ARAN; The only material partiCulars of No. VI he following : TO KING JOSEPH, FROM HIS.MINtSTEI PARIS. rr SIRE, " The :Id humotir which has prevailed agt here gradually diminishes. In my judgme letters which your Majesty wrote to the Ei and Empress on occasion of their martiag had a good effect. Napoleon has not yet spc me on subjeCts of bus:ness ; but when I td at the levee, he saluted me grationily. Spanish- Ministry at this Court at considers , The late Cunt .• de . Cabarras wa hated:' On this subject I have spoken with 5 •the Ministers, and I believe with advapiogf thongh it is certain that the wish of Fiance i ijl4igtiliets,sitt_lilis side. the Ebro slio ulLt , o her empire, and every thing is preparing yet accordin4 to the Opinion of some it is not ire reserved irron, and niusi depend upon events. • I believe, Sire, that nothing, at p the 'Emperor wishes s•I anxicusly as tnatswe 'not oblse him to Send money to Spin. TI of his Exchequer requites than he , should re4l expences. Will your IVlajesty believq that some pO l of Paris have presurneo to say that a ,revolu Spain was approaching most injurious to the interest, and that the Spantards under your I\ should support a general insurrecticn ? Y 0 jesty will see the absurdity. of this conk:t.tur how prejudicial it would be if it were to gain " Two separate times I Laic spoken to the of Neufchatel on the just complaint : of_ you .jesty against Marshal Nev. On the first oc he told use that the Emperor had not delivl him the letter cf your Majesty, and he s. that he could not approve of the Cooduo Marshal. On the second he answered, that,h not at all interfere in the - business. - • 'f'Your most obedient and faithful " SANTA " Paris, June zo, SPAAISH PAPERS. (FURTHER EXTRACTS ) BADAJOZ, JULY 17.-Iti the circunistan count transmitted by Dun Josh hiAZ, of tion at Xerez de los Caballeros; on the sth I after praising the gallant conduct of certain and soldiers who distinguished thetnse;ves, 1 eludes by saying,. that the loss of the enei ceeded :850 men in killed and wounded :. was 35 killed, 34 u ounded, and 230_ prisons were taken by the enemy, from having los way it their retreat. The greater part of Cher ei , er made their escape,. and joined their Letters from Za'fra•, confirm the same, ani that of the seventy prisoners brought in ti the 7th,- after the action rt Jerez, only went out the next day, and that the I had required seventy • men to carry in to their ottcers, who 'were dangerously wot they llewise,assure us, referring to the Frenc cers, that the enemy lost, in that battle !nor 1000 men,, and vve_about 300, inchWingpri The Prefe6t of" Seville, ARANZA ha., howevt enlaced an account that "the .French in the at Xerez, lost only 30 men, adding that th killed 1006 Spaniards.. • The inhab:tants I.vhc witnessed the tkts and counted the carcase not tail to add thiiifiroof,to the many they by `ready had of the little regard' our enemies hi' truth. The four hours which the French were in de los cabelleroi were given up to plundering. stole all the monefand furniture they could; the prison; and killed a peasant on their leavi place. • A few days ago the division of REGNIaL I self in motion in the direCtion of the Tago , thouiand men, which were in Merida, evacu on the 12th - , abandoning 1 3 - sick, one cannci bushels of wheat, and various other articles, having thrown into the Guadiana a 'quantity of der and ball. AYADiONT4 JULY 18.---Whilst thc